Birds in Flight Emerge from the Negative Space of Broken Windows

Street artist Pejac is known for the simple, witty manner in which his art interacts with the environment. And while this isn’t the first time he’s played with windows, the Spanish artist’s newest intervention is certainly a twist on what he’s previously executed. During his two-week residency at Rijeka, Croatia with the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Pejac created a striking illusion using broken windows and black paint. By breaking, cutting, and replacing the windows of an abandoned paper factory power plant, silhouettes of birds in flight emerge from the negative space. The scene is completed by the black silhouette of a boy with his slingshot, taking aim and readying himself to bring down more birds.

Is the boy shooting down the birds or breaking the windows? It’s a heady trick without a clear answer. “On a surrealistic level I made a call to attention to nature’s survival instinct— flock of birds camouflage as broken windows in order to blend in and disappear to the human eye for the sake of their survival.” Pejac explains. “As a secondary reading I’m playing with a tribute to René Magritte’s birds holding the sky within them.”

Camouflage (Tribute to René Magritte) plays with the eye, causing us to reflect on the visual forms seen across the urban landscape. Where one person may see a broken window, Pejac sees an opportunity to transform space and bring whimsy to an abandoned area.